Consensus and Conflic: Abortion, Mainline Protestants, and Religious Restructuring Since 1960
How and why have attitudes on abortion among Protestant institutions shifted? I use a comparative historical approach and study official abortion stances, archival materials, and periodical articles of the largest and most prominent Mainline Protestant denominations from 1960 to today. I find that M...
| Published in: | Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[publisher not identified]
[2019]
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| In: |
Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
USA
/ Protestantism
/ Abortion
/ Appraisal
/ History 1960-1992
|
| RelBib Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CH Christianity and Society KBQ North America KDD Protestant Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei registrierungspflichtig) |
| Summary: | How and why have attitudes on abortion among Protestant institutions shifted? I use a comparative historical approach and study official abortion stances, archival materials, and periodical articles of the largest and most prominent Mainline Protestant denominations from 1960 to today. I find that Mainline Protestant stances on abortion have shifted dramatically over time, but in strikingly homogenous ways across denominations. In 1960, no Mainline Protestant denomination supported abortion access. During a first wave of shifting from 1966-1972, all denominations suddenly supported expanding abortion rights. During a second wave of shifting from 1988-1992, all denominations stated new hesitations to abortion access. I argue that shifting stances on abortion are connected to how a religious group negotiated shifting ethnic, religious, and political boundaries in the United States since the 1960s. During the first wave of shifting, Mainline Protestants were united by a common enemy: Catholics. During the second wave of shifting, the 'opponent' shifted from Catholics to Evangelical Protestants, who had different political identities and who were sometimes sitting in the Mainline Protestants' own pews. |
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| ISSN: | 1556-3723 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion
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